It is frequently desirable to secure the rotor blades of a helicopter when that helicopter is not in use. Securing the rotor blades has several advantages. It protects the blades from swinging, rocking, and flexing, and thereby avoids excessive pressure on a helicopter's rotor shaft. In addition, it stops the blades from spinning in the wind and thereby reduces the chance that the blades will strike something and be damaged. Lastly, some helicopters have folding rotor blades that, when properly secured, make the helicopter substantially more compact for storage and shipment.
Specialized clamping devices have been developed for attaching to the rotor blades of helicopters. One such rotor blade clamping device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,982 to Tiemann and entitled “Aircraft Blade Clamp.” Once in place, these clamping devices may be mated to rigid pole assemblies (i.e., booms) or straps that act to restrict the movement of the rotor blades. Nevertheless, despite their widespread use, conventional rotor blade clamping devices are not ideal. They tend, for example, to be specific to one blade profile and therefore cannot be used on more than one type of helicopter. Moreover, a conventional rotor blade clamping device may place excessive force onto a rotor blade and cause damage. Such damage is of particular concern for rotor blades formed from composite materials such as carbon fiber, which are susceptible to cracking
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for improved rotor blade clamping devices that address the above-identified deficiencies.